It Shines
by Daroga's Rainy Daae
Summary: Indi Pierce and his bumbling assistant Cauldwell are after a Mayan crown that could determine the fates of everyone! Average Tomb Raider adventure? Not when whiny lil' Alex West is tagging along... :)


Lara became more relaxed with every passing moment that she was in the beautiful place she had found. Well; she couldn't take any credit for that actually... she had really accidentally stepped on a hidden button and had gone tumbling down a shaft to what would have been sudden doom if she hadn't have been a quick thinker and grabbed the inconspicuous ledge on the way down.  
  
To back it up a bit, Lara had been looking for a crown that had once belonged to the statue of a Mayan God - and as some may know, the Mayans were fortune tellers of the future and believed their Gods told them the fates of people, and the strange thing was, they were usually right. And this crown was rumored to be 'the ultimate power' being able to 'control the universe' so you know where that goes. The usual 'Lara has to get the artifact before the bad guys do or it's the end of the world as we know it'.  
  
Well when she did indeed fall into that shaft, she came upon two things - one; the sparkling crown which was magnificent in it's utter perfection despite it's untimely age which didn't show a bit, and two; the all too accounted for bad guys.  
  
So here she was - crouching stealthily behind a pillar and calmly listening to what the villains were plotting to do with the crown.  
  
"Look at that, Cauldwell," a man told his companion, stepping up to the crown which lay on it's bed of silk. "A bauble thousands of years old and it looks as if it were freshly made yesterday... questionable, yes... astonishing - no. The Mayans were a race of genius's. Perfect weirdoes who couldn't even explain themselves. Their accomplishments are remarkable, and... this crown is the most valuable - the KEY part to their whole existence... do you ever KNOW what it does?"  
  
"Uh, no sir," Cauldwell remarked, taking shifty glances around the small pyramid room.  
  
"This is the answer to all problems - the master of all devices... the main bauble of all woven strands of time... this could end everything.. this could destroy all that lies in it's path... and it's ours for the taking - with this - we can rule to world! The universe!"  
  
"Indi Pierce," Lara whispered hatefully.  
  
Yes, they had been acquaintances. He was a rival - only one of them. But one of the most ambitious and not to mention, strong and cunning of all villainous men she had ever faced. He was a former archaeologist and was now just a power-hungry beast that was a threat to everyone everywhere at any time. And only Lara knew it. And only she could stop him.  
  
"Did you hear something?" Cauldwell asked warily, peeking in the direction of the pillar that Lara was behind. She calmly stood and revealed herself.  
  
"Only a rat," Indi sneered, his upper lip curling slightly. "So Lara, we meet again."  
  
Lara smiled mockingly. "We do. And again I'll have to take something from you."  
  
"Oh whatever could THAT be?" Indi wondered sarcastically.  
  
Lara tipped her head at the crown. "Let me have it, and I won't have to hurt you."  
  
"Ooh, she won't have to hurt you, boss! Did you hear that? Heheheh," Cauldwell sniggered throatily. Lara took a careful step forward and Cauldwell flinched.  
  
"I've warned you," Lara smirked.  
  
In less than a second, and a flick of her fingers, her guns were out and pointed straight at Indi. He raised his hands, sighing deeply.  
  
"Lara, Lara, Lara," he whispered wickedly, smiling with disgusting malice. "You can never beat me."  
  
All was silent.  
  
Lara aimed her pistols and lowered her eyes at Indi, but Cauldwell took it as a threat (which it very well was) and fumbled at his holster to withdraw his own pistols, which he aimed with lack of experience at Lara's head.  
  
"You think you're going to shoot me like that?" Lara asked, letting out a contemptuous snort.  
  
"You better not try anything!" Cauldwell hissed.  
  
"Like this?" Lara asked, kicking Cauldwell in the crotch and spinning around, whacking Indi across the face with her heavy guns. In the next moment, she snatched the crown lightly, dashing off and dodging gun fire all the while.  
  
"Get her! And don't shoot the crown!" Indi instructed menacingly, chasing Lara down the corridor. The only problem was, that Lara didn't know where she was going, and the first turn she took was a dead end.  
  
"She's cornered, now's your chance!" Indi whooped excitedly, about to round the corner and come face to face with the defeated Lara Croft. The only problem was - that she was nowhere to be seen.  
  
"Boss!" Cauldwell huffed, gasping and panting and coming up behind Indi.  
  
"Impossible!" Indi hissed icily, "There's no WAY she could have escaped, it's a dead end!" He stomped his foot impatiently, spinning around on his heel. "Come, Cauldwell! She must have been playing tricks with us! We'll find her down this next hall." And they both stormed off in bad tempers.  
  
Lara let her breath out in a rush, letting herself drop lightly from the corner of the dark ceiling like a cat. She smiled with content at her achievements and turned the opposite direction to where the three had met. Though she heard something behind the pillar she had hidden behind...  
  
No way, she thought, they're not THAT stupid...  
  
She cautiously came up behind the shadowy figure who was lurking around, probably thinking that nobody was there.  
  
"Aha!" She shouted, grabbing the intruder by the arm and flinging them out into the light. And there, shocked and guilty, lay Alex West. They stared at each other for a moment with weird expressions on their faces, and then Lara went into action.  
  
"What do you think you're doing here?" Lara asked coldly, stooping down to Alex.  
  
"I - well - I was - umm... good question," he blabbered.  
  
"You wanted the crown for yourself," Lara whispered so as not to give herself away to the villains who still haunted the pyramid, rolling her eyes. There was no answer. "And you call yourself an archaeologist, you pathetic excuse for a man. Now you've seen too much. I'll have to kill you now."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Alex muttered, brushing himself off as Lara pointed her pistols at him - one almost touching his chest and the other right in his face. "What are you DOING?"  
  
"I'm not kidding," Lara said, her eyes down to slits. "I know you too well. You're probably getting paid to find this, so some powerfully rich man can have it for himself. You don't care about the rest of the world, just as long as you get your share of the money for finding it."  
  
Alex smiled sheepishly. "That pretty well sums it all up," he said, glaring warily at the guns. "You're not.. REALLY going to shoot me, are you?"  
  
"No doubt you deserve to be shot, Alex," Lara replied. Alex was too used to this to be much afraid of Lara's threats, but he shifted uncomfortably and Lara noticed this. "However many times I save your life, you never repay me, only think of it as an invitation to continue your stupid habits. Don't you EVER learn?"  
  
"No," he admitted.  
  
Lara shoved both pistols into Alex's chest and said calmly, "So I should kill you, then Alex, as ungrateful as you are."  
  
"I didn't say I wasn't grateful," he mumbled hotly. "And I'm not ONLY set on money," he continued.  
  
"Yeah," Lara agreed, "Like I said before, money AND yourself."  
  
"I care about other people, too," Alex shot back.  
  
"I seriously doubt it."  
  
"Well, don't."  
  
"Who's the one holding the guns? I can doubt whatever I please," Lara teased, pushing on Alex with her guns so he was backed against the wall.  
  
"Lara..." Alex trailed off warningly.  
  
"Or what?" She snorted, pushing him harder so her pistols dug uncomfortably into his ribs.  
  
"Quit it, I'm serious."  
  
"So am I."  
  
"You don't want to kill me," Alex said faintly, now looking a bit scared.  
  
"Why not?" Lara tipped her head to the side. "Hmmm...?"  
  
Alex looked wicked, but stopped tempting her, at least for a few seconds before he opened his big mouth. "Because I know you won't."  
  
"How are you so sure?" She asked secretively.  
  
"If you wanted to, you would have by now," he answered logically.  
  
Of course he was right. She was never hesitant. She was just playing with him.  
  
"If you tell anyone, and I mean it.. if anyone else besides Indi Pierce and his stupid sidekick know about the crown, I'm going straight to you, and you're not going to like what I have in store for you," Lara threatened.  
  
"Right," Alex chirped.  
  
Lara grinned sadistically. "And to make sure that it never happens - YOU will help me to find and turn into the police, none other than Indi Pierce and that Cauldwell idiot. Come along."  
  
"Yeah, yeah," Alex muttered, following Lara down a dark corridor, reluctantly.  
  
A/N: Not much so far, but I'm sure I'll have something later on! Please review! :) :) :) :) 


End file.
